Circle has received a limited purpose trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services, giving the USDC issuer another regulatory approval as it broadens its operating footprint.
The company said Friday that it will operate under the charter as Circle New York Trust. Circle said the approval builds on the BitLicense it received in 2015.
“Earning a New York trust charter has been a longstanding objective for Circle,” CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a statement. He called the approval an important milestone for the company, adding: “This charter reflects over a decade of regulatory commitment and positions USDC within a strong, respected framework as digital dollars become central to the global financial system.”
The charter places Circle New York Trust under the supervision of the New York Department of Financial Services. A limited purpose trust company cannot accept customer deposits or make loans in the way a traditional bank can. It can, however, provide services such as holding digital assets on behalf of customers and serving in a fiduciary capacity under New York banking law.
Following the announcement, Circle shares rose 8.4% on the day to around $68.40, according to Yahoo Finance.
Recent moves by Circle
The New York approval follows several other recent developments at the company.
Earlier this month, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved Circle’s application to establish a national trust bank. That approval allows the company to move key USDC operations under a federal banking framework and offer digital asset custody services.
More recently, on Monday, Circle acquired IBM’s blockchain patent portfolio. The deal added nearly 1,000 patents covering blockchain technology, financial services, and enterprise software. Circle said it plans to use that portfolio across USDC, the Circle Payments Network, and its Arc blockchain.